That is all. N characters
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Except on a bass, right? 
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i play death metal so I don’t know what that is
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I change strings maybe once or twice a year 
For example, I got an Ibanez in February 2024 and change the strings when I got it and then changed them again before Christmas!
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Once a week for me…but that’s what you’ve got to do when you have acid sweat.
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you must spend a fortune on strings!
I keep 3 guitars in regular circulation…so yes.
I spend a fortune on strings. It hurts my soul
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jesus. I can’t go more than about 2-3 weeks max, and honestly they start feeling kinda dead after the first week. It makes a noticeable difference in my playing, too: could be just a confidence/sound thing but there’s certain things that I can’t play consistently on dead strings.
Why not coated strings like Elixir?
Do coated strings make a difference for you? My strings would die really quick and after swapping to Elixir’s (coated D’Addario’s felt too much like dead strings) they can go a couple months, I’d never go back 
That’s a really good question! I trialled them for a year and my findings were that they lasted twice as long before they felt bad to the fingers, which was a minor improvement, so they do work.
But…
They sound and feel terrible by comparison. That’s a personal thing obviously, but yeah, they sound bad. Imo when they are brand new they sound like 2 week old strings.
When did you try them? I remember the OG elixirs felt really unnaturally smooth and were perceptibly duller than unwound strings (though, to be fair, they stayed about the same basically forever, and after a week were still about the same while conventional strings would have already begun to sound a lot darker). Early on, they used “normal” unwound stirngs, too, so those wopuld corrode as normal.
Now, well, the Elixir Nanowebs were a huge step up, and around the same time they started using corrosion-resistant unwound strings as well. I’ve been using those for close to 20 years, though the new Optiwebs (I guess a couple years old now) last very nearly as long and are even closer in sound and feel to an unwound string. If you haven’t tried them in a while, they’re worth a try.
I’m working on a recording project right now and threw a set of D’Addario XT coated bass strings on my bass for it. They sound and feel, well, the first set I put on, the package was pretty crushed and the interior climate-proof envelope is a resealable ziploc, so I was a little worried maybe they were a different set of D’Addarios a less scrupulous ebay seller had swapped in. I swapped them out for a fresh set after I could hear a little bit of lost high in after five songs (probably 10 hours of tracking) and I’ll let you know how these hold up… but they sound and feel VERY normal. If so, the guitar XTs might be worth a look, probably with a shorter lifespan than Optiwebs, but they’ll feel like untreated strings.
I’ve tried the Optiwebs, yes. I used them for most of last year. I’m just not sold on the sound, but more so, the feel is just off to me.
Not saying they are bad, they are great, just not for me.
I think that Elixir works by putting a tube around the wrapped strings, so dirt (like dead skin) can’t get in-between the windings. I’ve been using them since before they first came out, I was in a trial program. I’m sure there are some other very nice strings that are similar from other manufacturers (perhaps like these).
One thing that I wonder about is if they extend the fret life over wound strings, as the teflon tubes (Elixir) might have less rubbing against the fret wire than steel? I’m not sure.
As a certified fret murderer, this is probably a non-issue, as the plain strings are far more damaging than the wound.
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hey do you have a card too?
I’ve got a 1999 rg7620 that’s almost fretless and I keep waffling about having it refretted 
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I’ve done serious damage to an RG752 that only 8 years old. Definitely needs a refret, figuring on stainless steel here on out.
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Some people destroy strings, some people destroy frets. Coated strings aren’t going to stop those unstoppable forces 
I do maybe 2 refrets a month in my work, and I always get to see the customers playing the guitar to make sure it feels good to them when I’m done. The people who wear frets out more, no surprise, are the people who play harder. Usually those with bigger, stronger hands.
There may be a small effect, but not a noticeable one.
On an amusing note, I have one customer who keeps wearing out the frets on his strats in the same pattern. Turns out all this guy does is play blues in A. Only A. 5th and 7th frets always get worn down.
PSA - the absolute worst thing you can do for your frets is to leave a capo on the guitar, or to lean it against stuff, strings down.
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I don’t have big strong hands, more’s the pity!
But I do play pretty aggressively. I’m aiming to get stainless frets on all future axes just because of this.
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D’Addario NYXL strings do seem to last 3x as long as standard strings, so you can change them less often.
I’m gentle on my strings and lazy about changing them, so I change my strings at most once a year.
I have never changed the strings on my rarely played bass.
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